


Apples

by JayTyHeyBye



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Apples, Baby Tony Stark, F/M, Family Bonding, First Words, Howard Stark is trying his best, Howard had a shitty dad too, Howard has a fear of apples, Past Child Abuse, Takes place in 1971, sassy baby Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayTyHeyBye/pseuds/JayTyHeyBye
Summary: Howard bonds with his sonORI wrote this instead of paying attention to my uni lecture





	Apples

**Author's Note:**

> We like making Howard suffer I guess

It wasn’t that Howard was scared of Apples, necessarily. If an Apple was sitting alone on the table, or in a bowl, then it was fine! If Howard was the one holding the Apple he might feel a little uneasy, but he’d be okay.

It isn’t until someone ELSE is holding the Apple that a feeling of panic begins to bubble in the pit of his stomach.

Being scared of Apples was a stupid fucking fear. Howard knew it was a stupid fear, he reminded himself a lot that it was a stupid fear. 

He wasn’t scared of heights, dying (not HIM dying, specifically), the dark, anything rational. Well, Spiders. He was scared of Spiders, but only the big ones that they don’t get in New York. 

Just fucking Apples.

It wasn’t the Apple’s fault, Howard knew. Apples were actually good, he liked them. He’d eat them. Hell, eventually he’d cut them up and feed them to his one year old son. 

How Maria had managed to trick him into coming out of his office, he wasn’t sure. She’d shown up at his door with only a skimpy pink robe on, curly blonde hair done in a pretty bun, and suddenly he was in the kitchen. Little Tony was in his highchair, and his wife was thrusting a shiny red Apple and a knife into Howard’s hands. His chest tightened and his legs felt a little wobbly. 

“You need to bond with your son.” She told him. Howard barely heard her. As quickly as the fruit had been put in his hands, it was being placed back down on the counter. The knife was placed down beside it.

“You expect me to bond with him by giving him a fucking Ap-”

“Howard,” Maria’s voice was stern and it was enough to make Howard’s mouth snap shut, “you need to spend more time with your son.” She crossed her arms, a strand of blonde falling in her eyes. Howard reached up to tuck it behind her ear and she swatted his hand away. Howard would be lying if he said he didn’t pout a little.

“Maria, I-”

“You get to spend one night with him, Howard. One night! Give him a snack, read him a bedtime story, and tuck him in. When you’re done...” Maria stepped forward, her hands trailing down his arms until their fingers could intertwine. She smirked, leaning up to kiss along his jaw. Howard swallowed the lump in his throat and placed his hands on Maria’s hips, but she pulled away at the last second.

“Mariaaaaaa-”

She made her way towards the door, leaving Howard still standing there, looking defeated.

“Bond with your son, Howard!” With that, she was gone.

Howard let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Tony was babbling quietly from across the room, hitting tiny plump fists against the edge of his high chair. Howard followed Tony’s gaze and found big, brown eyes focused on the lone Apple that still sat on the counter.

“C’mon, kid, don’t you want something else? A cookie or something?” 

Tony then just reached out towards the fruit and made grabby hands.

“Traitor. You really are my kid.” Howard huffed, reaching out to grab the knife and the Apple. He made his way over to his son’s highchair and plopped himself down in front of it, hesitating for a moment. His hands had started to tremble ever so slightly, his knee was seemingly bouncing on his own, and his throat felt a little tighter than it normally did. 

Tony stared at him for a moment, excited eyes lighting up even more at the realization that Howard was going to be the one feeding him.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get used to it, bud. Mommy’s better at this than I am. Fuck, Mommy’s better at everything than I am.” 

Howard began to drag the knife through the Apple, breaking it up into little slices. He was shaking to the point that he knew he probably shouldn’t be holding a sharp knife...but Howard had done a lot of things in his life he shouldn’t have. It wouldn’t kill him to add one more thing to the list. Hopefully. 

He took the first piece and gave it to his son, a quiet sigh pushing passed his lips as he saw Tony trying to shove the entire thing in his mouth.

“Little bites, Kid. Mom’ll kill me if you choke.” 

Tony seemed to listen and actually took a smaller bite. Howard silently thanked God that Tony had gotten Maria’s listening skills and not his.

“It’s good to know someone in the Stark family likes Apples. Daddy hates them.” He cut off another chunk, leaving it on the small highchair ledge for Tony to eat when he was ready. “Break the cycle, Tone. More power to you.” 

Howard lifted his head and looked at his son. Tony had stopped eating, Apple chunk still in his tiny fist. He was just staring at his Father with a curious expression. It was almost as if he was asking what the fuck Howard was talking about. God, this really was his kid.

“Your Grandpa Walter used to sell Fruit, did I ever tell you that? Even if I did, I doubt you’d remember.” He grumbled to himself, cutting off a few more small chunks as his son began to munch away again. “He wasn’t a good guy, Tony. Your Nana Elizabeth, though? Best lady you’ll ever meet. Not that you’ll ever meet either of them, they’re both really fucking dead, but...y’know.” Howard hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Walter had anger issues. Explains where Daddy gets it from, huh?”

He looked up at his son. Tony hummed from behind his Apple slice, as if agreeing. Little traitor, definitely.

“Well,” Howard cleared his throat “Grandpa Walter used to sell Fruit for a living. Oranges, Bananas, Strawberries, Apples, the usual. Nana Lizzie used to sew waistcoats. Anyways, on the weekends when I didn’t have school, I used to help my Old Man with his shitty fruit stand. I never wanted to be there. What kid wants to help sell fruit on his day off?”

Tony grunted. 

“Exactly! That’s my boy.” Howard saw Tony smile. “Anyways, Grandpa Walter was a grade A asshole. If I fucked up, he used to throw Apples at me to teach me a lesson. Usually I was pretty fast and could duck out of the way, but the ones that landed hurt. It ruined most fruit for me, I guess.”

Howard cut the last little slice of Apple and let Tony take it from him. He rose from his seat, throwing out the core, putting the knife in the sink, and he rinsed off his hands. He grabbed a piece of paper and plopped back down, waiting until Tony finished before he reached out and wiped all the juice off his face. Tony fussed, and Howard tutted a little.

“I know, I know, Daddy’s an awful person. You’ve had so much hardship in life. Washing your face? Awful. Torture.”

Howard balled up the paper towel and threw it in the trash, then freed his son from the confines of his highchair and lifted him into his arms. Tony flopped against his chest and it took all of Howard’s effort not to melt at the sight. Tony made grabby hands towards the bowl of fruit on the counter, silently telling Howard he wanted another Apple. Howard began to carry the boy out of the kitchen.

“C’mon, buddy. Bedtime, Mommy says so.”

Getting Tony into bed was fucking easy. He was more Maria than he was Howard behaviour-wise and Howard couldn’t be any more grateful. Tony let Howard brush his teeth, wash his face, and get him into his robot footie pyjama’s without a single complaint. 

Howard shut the book he’d just finished reading aloud (the original Winnie the Pooh, Tony loved that one according to Maria) and Tony was all tucked in. Howard remembered why he didn’t come into Tony’s room very often. The Captain America bedsheets sent chills down his spine.

“Okay, kiddo. Go to sleep.” Howard pushed himself to his feet and stretched, cracking his back. Fuck, he was getting old. 

“Daddy!”

Howard’s entire fucking body froze. He spun around to look down at the toddler, eyes wide. 

“Did you just...”

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Howard genuinely didn’t expect to even be around when Tony said his first word. He sure as hell didn’t expect it to be Daddy, of all things. He hadn’t exactly been the best Father. That was entirely his fault, and he knew it was.

He must have been standing there for five solid minutes before he snapped back to reality. Tony was still staring at him, but now he’d kicked off his covers and had his arms crossed. Sassy little guy.

“You’re gonna give me a damn heart attack, Tone.” 

“Daaadddddyyyyy!”

Howard reached down and scooped his son into his arms, pressing a somewhat awkward kiss to his cheek. 

Had he ever kissed his son before? Well, Tony’s first word, Howard’s first time showing Tony actual affection. There were a lot of firsts going on today.

“Yeah, kiddo, Daddy’s got you.” Howard couldn’t fight the smile forming on his face as Tony leaned full-heartedly into him again. It was sickeningly sweet. Howard adjusted the boy in his arms, turning on his heel and carrying Tony toward’s the bedroom door. “Yeah, I’m not tired either. Let’s...”

He paused, both in words and his steps. He wasn’t shaking anymore.

“Let’s go get you another Apple.”


End file.
